To get the best out of a high-quality camera like the Sony a6000, you need to match it with a fast and reliable memory card. Which one does the best job, and is it good value for money? In this blog post, we’ve compared the best 5 memory cards for Sony a6000 cameras. Even though the Alpha 6000 was launched in 2014, it can handle fast memory cards with substantial storage space, so our top pick is the SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO memory card. Even though it’s expensive compared to others on the list, it finds itself in the top spot because of its value for money.
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SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO UHS-I SDXC Memory Card
We like the SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO SD card because it has plenty of memory space. Whether you shoot RAW or JPEG, there’ll still be room on your card at the end of a day’s shooting.
It writes data to the card swiftly and accurately, and it’s a tough piece of hardware that can handle being dropped and put through X-ray machines at the airport. Here are some more reasons why you’ll love it…
- Whether you take wildlife photos, are a sports photographer, or just like taking pictures of your children at play, you probably appreciate your Sony a6000’s burst mode. But your camera’s ability to capture the action with multiple photos is only useful if the memory card can keep up. This is why you need the SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO memory card. SanDisk advertises the card as having a 90MB/s write speed.
- The Sony a6000 has a maximum writing speed of about 35MB per second, so are you wasting your money buying a super-fast card? No. A fast card is always better than a slow one. Your camera can shoot six 24-megapixel images each second, and at 35 megabytes per second, the card stores photos as quickly as you can take them.
- This means there’s no buffering, so you can quickly get back to taking more pictures. Buying an ultra-fast card is an investment in your photographic future. You can keep using this card after upgrading to a newer camera.
- With its 128 gigabytes of storage, you will not run out of space too soon. If you like bracketing your shots, you’d usually have at least three different exposures of each frame, but the 128GB Extreme Pro card can save all of your precious pictures to its spacious vault.
- The Sony a6000 produces Full HD videos, which require fast writing speeds. This card handles it with ease.
- Like most SanDisk cards, the 128GB Extreme PRO is shockproof and waterproof. It can also withstand extreme temperatures, so shooting while snowboarding or trekking through the desert is not a problem.
SanDisk 64GB Extreme PRO UHS-I SDXC Memory Card
Professional photographers trust SanDisk memory cards for their reliability and performance, so you can be sure that your a6000 camera will benefit from this card’s stability, power, and speed. This card is as good as the 128GB version, but it is about half the price due to its reduced storage capacity. The only reason its big brother (the 128GB version) has an extra star rating is because of the flexibility the extra storage space offers. The SanDisk 64GB Extreme PRO is a sensational card. Here are the features that make it stand out from its competition.
- This card has an advertised reading speed of up to 170MB/s. This is great for fast downloads to your computer or backup devices.
- The card is verified as U3, which means it has a writing speed that enables a Sony a6000 to use sequential burst mode and to record Full HD video. It even avoids buffering when you capture an image using a combination of RAW and JPEG.
- The rugged exterior makes it shockproof and waterproof. It handles extremes of temperature and won’t be affected by X-rays.
- With 64GB available, the storage capacity is large enough for a full day’s shooting.
- It’s an affordable version of a super-fast card.
Sony 64GB SF-M Tough Series UHS-II SDXC Memory Card
Since you love your Sony a6000, maybe you should consider a memory card made by Sony, too. This is a wise idea because Sony’s SD cards are in a class of their own.
They are branded as ‘Tough’ for a reason. The resin-molded casing is completely sealed, making it one of the strongest memory cards on the market. It’s designed for everyday photo enthusiasts who worry about the resilience of their camera gear and for adventurous photographers who are likely to punish their equipment. Here are some of its outstanding features.
- This card can be dropped onto concrete from 5 meters (16 feet) without showing any damage. It also has a bend grade 18 times stronger than industry standards.
- If you drop your camera into a lake less than 5 meters deep (16 feet), you’ll ruin your camera, but the images on this memory card will survive. Even if it takes 72 hours to find someone to retrieve your camera, the content will still be safe.
- The sealed, waterproof casing also means dust and debris can’t find their way into the card to settle on internal circuitry and potentially destroy your memories. It’s also X-ray proof and temperature resistant too.
- Incorporating a UHS-II bus isn’t advantageous to a6000 users since the card’s fast read speed (up to 277 MB/s) and maximum write speed (up to 150 MB/s) are limited to the camera’s capacity to handle these speeds. However, purchase it anyway because you won’t have to upgrade to new memory cards when you change to a more advanced camera.
- Its 64GB capacity means it can handle bulky shooting styles of burst mode and bracketing. Combining this card’s 64GB of space with its V60 speed class rating means it can cope with capturing stills in RAW and is optimized for filming Full High Definition video.
- The only reason this card doesn’t get an extra star is that it’s not as affordable as its rivals.
Lexar Professional 1066x 64GB SDXC UHS-I Memory Card (Silver Series)
This card is on our list of the best 5 memory cards for Sony a6000 because it easily handles the workload placed on it with this camera. We’ve already established that writing and transfer speed are essential for capture and workflow, and the Lexar effortlessly copes with both situations.
At the writing speed of 70MB/s, it’s not as fast as the SanDisk cards shown above, but remember that the Sony a6000 has a maximum writing speed of about 35MB/s, so it’s not going to be noticed by the user. And the reading speed of 160MB/s is slower too, but only by a thin margin. When you want to offload valuable data from the memory card to your computer or a backup device, this card is still fast enough to transfer data swiftly and safely. How does it compare to other memory cards?
- With its high-speed capabilities and large capacity, the Lexar Professional 1066x 64GB card is suitable for capturing a vast volume of still photos and videos from your Sony Alpha 6000.
- This card outperforms the requirements of the Sony a6000, so it will be helpful for future photographic needs.
- These cards are designed with durability in mind and are rigorously tested. Although not waterproof, they are water-resistant and cope with shock and X-rays.
Transcend 64GB 500-S UHS-1 SDXC Memory Card
Transcend cards are made by a Taiwanese company that has been manufacturing digital storage products since 1988. They design, develop, and manufacture all their products. Their memory cards undergo rigorous testing for durability. These cards are gaining a following from photographers who like reliability and a lower price. Other benefits of this card are…
- This card is built for extremes, is temperature resistant, meets the standards for resisting airport X-rays, and withstands static electricity. It can cope with being submerged in 3.3 feet (1 meter) of water for 30 minutes.
- The speed class rating guarantees a minimum write speed of 30 MB/s, so you can film Full HD video without dropping any frames. The read speed of 95 MB/s means a nimble transfer of data.
- With 64GB of storage, there’s plenty of space for a large number of videos and huge quantities of still photos in JPEG, RAW, or both.
Value for Money
In today’s photographic marketplace, you are spoiled for choice. Memory card manufacturers design blindingly fast, ultra-reliable cards within anyone’s budget.
Previously, only professional photographers could justify buying cards with extreme writing speeds and the capacity to store thousands of images. Students and everyday camera enthusiasts can now have memory cards that match their needs and expectations.
Which memory cards should you avoid?
Unknown brands of memory cards should be avoided because they often have dubious levels of stability. Only buy from a reputable dealer, or you may end up with a counterfeit card. A fake memory card usually looks the same as a known brand, but the capacity is generally lower than what I stated on the label, or it comes from an unknown manufacturer with inferior standards of quality and reliability.
What is the best brand of memory card?
Without a doubt, the manufacturer with the highest level of credibility within the photographic community is SanDisk. Their technical expertise guarantees a long-lasting product with impressive reading and writing speeds.
They also provide fast and friendly support through email, live chat, and phone. Sony is another company that has an incredible reputation for high-end technology. Their ‘Tough’ brand of memory cards is rewriting how consumers think about image storage and should be considered a front-runner on the list of best memory card producers.
What are the advantages of using 64GB memory cards?
You may have noticed that most of our top 5 picks for memory cards suiting the Sony a6000 mirrorless camera have 64GB of storage space. This is because the a6000 Help Guide states, “SD cards up to 64 GB have been tested and proven to operate with this product.”
From research on photographic forums, the anecdotal response to this seems to be that the a6000 handles larger capacity cards just as easily. Still, to be on the safe side and to have an even comparison between the cards we reviewed, we’ve mainly discussed the 64GB versions. The notable exception is the SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO memory card. SanDisk cards have exceptional stability and performance, so there’s little risk of this large-capacity card having any problems with your camera.
Conclusion
Your Sony a6000 is one of the best-selling mirrorless cameras of all time. It pays to match it with a trustworthy and fast memory card. Unlike many modern cameras with dual memory card slots for immediate backup, the Sony a6000 only takes one memory card.
This means it’s wise to invest in a reputable memory card that is less likely to become corrupted. Our top choice is the SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO. It’s a card that has consistently proven itself to photographers from all levels of experience. Professionals trust it, so why shouldn’t you?
But the runner-up option goes to Sony’s Tough card. All the other cards on our list claim their data protection lock is an important feature of their cards. And this lock is an excellent way to remind yourself that the card is full of images you want to keep. Locking the card tells you the card shouldn’t be formatted until all those pictures are safely backed up, but a lock adds the risk of something going wrong with the body of the card.
Sometimes those locks become loose and don’t stay in the unlocked position, meaning you can’t use the card even when you want to. Because the Tough card is one wholly sealed unit, it doesn’t have a write-protect switch, so there’s no weak point for potential damage to the case.
And if it isn’t there, it can’t fail! Sony’s Tough cards give you the performance and reliability you need to capture the action with complete peace of mind, so it also receives high recommendations from us.
